anti-corruption; politics; open government

A Quechua leader addresses the Minister of Health at the 2nd National Conference on Health in Peru. Photo credit: ForoSalud

In the past decade, efforts to promote more open and accountable governance have proliferated. These endeavors have taken on many shapes and sizes, from international multi-stakeholder initiatives to community-level citizen action, and everything in between.

Most often, these approaches have sought to leverage elements of transparency and information along with some form of citizen engagement or participation, with the goal of influencing government actions to be more responsive and accountable.

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On a hot dry day in June, a woman in her early 40s is getting ready for journey to a nearby town. She is excited even though she will walk more than three hours on foot—she is going to meet with a government loan officer to try to get the money she needs to buy fertilizer and other supplies for her farm. She needs to grow and sell enough crops to pay for her son to continue school for the next year.

She gets a mug of water from a bucket to put out the open wood fire that she uses to cook meals for her family. Then she pulls her slippers from the thatched roof and leaves her hut.

As she walks, she feels hopeful. She believes this loan will change her family’s future. For the past 6 months, she has made numerous trips to this office because the government official had told her that before her application could be considered, the paperwork must be accurate and complete.